Measurement of Short-Lived Fission-Product Yields of URANIUM-235 Using High-Resolution Gamma Spectra.

Independent yields of short-lived fission products produced by the thermal neutron induced fission of ^{235}U were determined from the measurements of high resolution gamma spectra. Comparisons were made to the recommended yield values tabulated in the ENDF/B-VI evaluated fission-product data base. Measurements of the gamma spectra were made with a high purity germanium detector (HPGe) using a NaI(Tl) annulus for Compton suppression. Use of beta-gamma coincidence reduced the random background and also allowed a precise definition of the delay time. The experiment was carried out at the 5.5 MV Van de Graaff facility at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Rapid transfer of the fission fragments to a low background counting environment, a crucial factor in determining the yields of short-lived fission products, was enabled by a helium -jet tape transport system. The recommended yields in the evaluated data file are a combination of experimental and model-predicted values. The latter source is used since data from many short-lived fission products is still missing or poorly known. The results presented here, especially the ones for the very short-lived isotopes may be used to reduce the uncertainties associated with some of the existing values or to replace model-predicted yields. Gaussian distributions of elemental yields, based on the set of experimentally determined independent yields were examined. The feasibility of predicting unmeasured yields on the basis of charge and mass complementarity was also addressed.